The present invention, in some embodiments thereof, relates to a smooth pour directionless liquid dispenser and, more particularly, but not exclusively, to such a dispenser that is easy to mould and which can be fixed onto cans or bottles using legacy machinery.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,026,994 to the present inventor, describes a retractable spout assembly for application to the neck of a bottle to be closed by a cap. The assembly includes a sleeve-like housing fixedly receivable within the bottle neck, and a spout movable within the housing from a retracted position, when the housing is fixed within the bottle neck and the bottle neck closed by the cap, to an extended position projecting outwardly of the housing and the bottle neck for pouring out contents of the bottle. To make the spout automatically extendible upon removing the cap, the assembly further includes a spring biasing the spout to its extended position. Such a spring could be omitted, whereupon the spout would be manually movable to its extended position upon removal of the cap.
In either case, the retractable spout assembly further includes an air-return passageway for returning air into the bottle when its contents are being poured out through the spout.
Prior U.S. Pat. No. 6,976,610, also to the present inventor, describes improvements in the construction of that retractable spout assembly which not only make the assembly more compact in construction and more reliable in operation but, by including a connector disc, also enable the assembly to be accommodated by existing bottle-capping machines so that virtually no change is required in such expensive machines to enable them also to be used for applying caps incorporating retractable spout assemblies.
There are many flowable materials, however, that are provided not in bottles, but rather in cans or other similar type containers, such as those including cylindrical sidewalls closed at their opposite ends by end walls. In order to dispense contents from the container, it is necessary to puncture one of the end walls. For this purpose, the end walls to be punctured is generally provided with a tab which is to be grasped and forcibly moved in order to puncture the end wall. Previously, such tabs were forcibly pulled out of the end wall to form the opening, but for health and safety purposes at the present time such tabs are merely pivoted to puncture the end wall and remain attached to the end wall. In either case, considerable force is needed in order to puncture the end wall, and moreover, when the end wall has thus been punctured, the container can no longer be reclosed.
A can spout that allows the can to be reclosed, is discussed in International Patent Application No. PCT/IL2014/050415. A spout is typically positioned near the periphery of the end wall (off-center) to facilitate smooth, continuous and controlled flow from the spout. The off-center position improves air inflow through the spout when the can is tilted for pouring. A can-type spout assembly which includes an integrated air inflow tube circumferentially offset from the pouring end of the spout is described. The spout assembly can be rotated within an opening in an end wall of the can to position the pouring end of the spout while maintaining the offset between the spout and air return passageway thereby maximizing air inflow into the container during pouring. The reason for making the spout rotatable is that the air intake needs to be above the liquid level when pouring, and current machinery is unable to guarantee an orientation of the spout when placing the spout on the can.
However the end user may not realize that the spout needs to be oriented before pouring, or may find it inconvenient or difficult to reorient the spout or may not choose the correct direction. Nevertheless, cans are generally shaped so that pouring can only be successful from a certain direction.
Also for a smooth pour, especially with a viscous liquid, the end of the spout needs to be a certain distance from the body of the container, otherwise the liquid spreads to the body of the container instead of pouring.
The present embodiments address the above issues.